Page 112 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

I slow to a stop and throw the car into park. Undoing my seatbelt, I turn to Oliver and take his face in my hands. “We made it. We’re all safe. Everyone’s okay, Oliver.”

The only response I get is a deep breath, which honestly is a relief to hear. For a while, his breaths were so short and shallow, I thought he might pass out.

I hear car doors slamming shut, and then the crunch of snow and ice. Oliver’s door opens, and then Elliot is leaning in, unbuckling his seatbelt, and pulling him out of the vehicle.

My heart aches at the way Oliver clings to Elliot, and at the sob that rips through the night air. Rhett comes up behind Oliver, wrapping his arms around both him and Elliot, so Oliver is sandwiched between them.

“We’re okay,” Elliot says, smoothing his hand down Oliver’s arm. “We’re all safe.”

“I thought you were dead.” Oliver’s voice breaks.

Tears fill my eyes. The way these three care about each other is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

I can’t lose them. I can’t.

Chills run through me when I realize that, if I hadn’t been in the stand with Oliver,hemay have been the one we all lost tonight. The only reason Tyler wasn’t able to sneak up on Oliver is because I was watching and managed to kick him down the ladder.

The image of Tyler laying in the snow, shirt soaked red and with blood trickling out of his mouth, sticks in my mind. I try to push it away, but I can’t. The way his eyes were still open, the way blood was all over his face from his broken nose—I can’t distract myself from it.

Maybe that’s why the nausea feels so sudden.

One second I’m in the car, watching Elliot and Rhett comfort Oliver. The next, I’m on my hands and knees on the cold ground, heaving up everything in my stomach.

“Shit,” I hear someone say, and a few seconds later a hand is pushing back my hair. “You’re okay, Wren. I know it’s a lot. I know.”

Elliot helps me stand, and I glimpse Rhett still holding Oliver from behind. His arms are wrapped around his chest, and he’s murmuring something quietly into Oliver’s ear.

There’s no one from my childhood or teen years who I’m that close to anymore. I can’t imagine knowing someone from such a young age and then almost losing them. And it must be so much worse, considering they’ve all been in a relationship for so long.

“Oliver,” I whisper, stepping toward him. But Elliot takes my hand.

“Let’s get inside. It’s too cold to keep standing out here.”

We head into the cabin, and Elliot switches on the lights. He directs me to the bathroom, where I find some mouthwash to get the taste of puke off my tongue.

When I come back into the main room, Oliver is on the couch, slowly sipping from a glass of water, and Rhett is starting a fire.

“Where’s Elliot?”

“Moving the cars into the garage,” Rhett says as he strikes a match.

I frown. It’s dark outside, but there’s no way I missed an entire garage out there.

At my confused look, Rhett says, “It’s underground.”

“More like a bunker, really,” Oliver says. “Finn likes to be prepared.”

He holds out an arm to me, pulling me close when I settle next to him. I take a deep breath, inhaling his woodsy, vanilla smell.

“I’m sorry I freaked out on you, princess. It was pretty terrible timing.”

“Are you okay?”

Oliver sniffles, then gives me a tired smile. “I’ll be fine. We’re all safe. That’s what matters.”

Standing, Rhett watches as the kindling in the fireplace catches. “I hate that Tyler got away. We couldn’t see him once he ran into the woods. I don’t think he even bothered looking for us. Just got the hell away as soon as he could.”

“Actually…” I exchange a glance with Oliver just as the front door of the cabin opens and Elliot steps through.